EDIBLE ECONOMICS

RADIO 4 BOOK OF THE WEEK Economic thinking about globalisation climate change immigration austerity automation and much more in its most digestible formFor decades a single free market philosophy has dominated global economics But this is bland and unhealthy like British food in the 1980s when bestselling author and economist Ha Joon Chang first arrived in the UK from South Korea Just as eating a wide range of cuisines contributes to a more interesting and balanced diet so too is it essential we listen to a variety of economic perspectives In Edible Economics Chang makes challenging economic ideas more palatable by plating them alongside stories about food from around the world He uses histories behind familiar food items where they come from how they are cooked and consumed what they mean to different cultures to explore economic theory For Chang chocolate is a life long addiction but more exciting are the insights it offers into post industrial knowledge economies and while okra makes Southern gumbo heart meltingly smooth it also speaks of capitalism s entangled relationship with freedom and unfreedom Explaining everything from the hidden cost of care work to the misleading language of the free market as he cooks dishes like anchovy and